Device for trimming linotype-slugs.



J. KOMANCSBK.

DEVICE FOR TRIMMING LINOTYPB SLUGS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 22, 1913.

Patented. Aug. 11, 19M.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INI/ENIGH Afro/2 frs WITNESSES J. KOMANCSEK.

DEVICE PoR TRIMMING LINOTYPE SLUGS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 22, 1913.

Patented Aug. 1l, 1914,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

n Vl..

EN OIC 31 JOSEPH KOMANCSEK, OF ASTORIA, NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR TRIMMING LINOTYPE-SLUGS.

inceste.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnri-r IoMANcsnK, a citizen of the United States,residing in, Astoria, in the county of Queens, in the State of New York,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for TrimmingLinotype-slugs, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to devices for trimming the side faces oflinotype or printing slugs as they are ejected from the mold in whichthey are cast.

-In linotype machines it is the common practice to pass the cast slugsbetween trimmingknives, one of which is fixed and the other of which isrelatively adjustable to determine the thickness of the body of thetype.

This invention is concerned particularly with the improvement of themeans for adjusting such a trimming knife and with the devices forlocking the same in adjusted position.

I-Iitherto, the adjustment of the movable knife has been effected bymeans of a series of stepped shoulders cooperating with the guide forsaid knife and acting in opposition to suitable springs which tended toseparate the knives. In such known machinesthe means for locking theadjustable knife and the adjusting devices in operative position havenot been entirely satisfactory in that they permit a slight relativemovement of the adjusting devices which relative movement is oftensufficient to make the slug of some other than the standard thickness.

It is the object of this invention to provide trimming knives andadjusting and locking devices therefor which shall be more effective intheir operation than corresponding devices now generally in use andshall embody in their construction and arrangement fewer disturbingfactors than formerly, by which the chances for inaccuracy in thethickness of the type are diminished, and which cooperate in such amanner as to eliminate the injurious wear on the parts to which previousmachines are subjected. In accordance with the invention springs areeliminated in so far as the trimming knives and their adjusting andlocking devices are concerned and provision is made for theSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application led December 22, 1913.

positive adjustment of the movable knife Patented Aug. if, i914.

Serial No. 808,091.

and the clamping thereof in its certain adjusted position. Therelatively movable parts of the devices are relieved, in so far aspossible, from frictional engagement with each other whereby they wouldbe subjected to wear and consequent loss in accuracy and such parts arerelieved from strains to l'emove their liability to derangement ormovement from their proper positions. In addition to making such generalimprovements as have been referred to herein this invention also seeksto provide devices which shall permit a greater range of adjustment ofthe thickness of the slug than has hitherto been possible and facilitatethe interchanging of the gage plugs by which intermediate thicknesses ofthe slugs may be more readily Secured than hitherto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improved meanscooperating with the knives to prevent the slug from being thrown toofar through the knives and to guide the slug in its travel.

cference is now to be had to the accompanying drawings for a detaileddescription of the invention, in which- Figure l is a view in frontelevation of the improved trimming device showing it in the positionwhich it will assume when attached to the standard linotype machine.Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2--2of F ig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a viewin elevation of the device shown in Fig. l, looking at one of the sidefaces thereof. Fig. -i is a view similar to Fig. 3,

'but looking at the other side face of the trimming device. Fig. 5 is asectional view, on a somewhat larger scale, showing a portion of thesupporting frame, the eccentric for adjusting the slide and the gib andits clamping bolts. Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the gib forlocking the slide in adjusted position. Fig. 7 is a conventional showingof one of the gage plugs and the locking pin therefor. j

'Ihe frame a is provided with a partly circular flange a formed with anopening o2 to permit access to the cylindrical drum which is secured toa rotatable shaft c provided with a milled knob c to facilitate manualrotation and with a graduated dial c2 for registration with an index orpointer as on a cover-plate at secured to the flange or housing a. Inthe front wall of the :frame a is mounted a reciprocable knife slide (Z,to the edge of which is adjustably secured a knife e, as by screws cZ,the cooperating fixed knife being indicated conventionally as at E. Thescrews Z preferably pass through elongated apertures 'formed in the bodyof the knife, as usual, to permit an initial adjustment of the knifewith respect to the slide CZ, to insure parallelism of the knife edge tothe coperating venient handle 7a2 to facilitate manual oscil-` lation ofthe eccentric ZL for the purpose of moving the slide (Z with respect tothe frame a so that an adjustment of the knife e with respect to thecoperating fixed knife E is secured. The extent of such movement of theslide CZ under the influence of the eccentric Z1, is determined bydevices now to be described.

In the outer face of the slide Z'is mounted, preferably removably, astud 7c while through the cover plate at of the housing a is passed athreaded stud or anvil Z which is in alinement with the first named studc. Between these two studs 7c and Z may be positioned by rotation of thedrum b, any one of a series of gage plugs m which are successively ofincreasing lengths and are arranged in the drum to form an annularseries concentric therewith. Each of these gage plugs m may be milledintermediate its ends, as at m', to receive a locking pin a passedinwardly from the edge of the drum and adapted to hold the plug withinthe drum while permitting through the milled portion a limited axialmovement thereof for reasons which will be pointed out hereinafter. AsViewed in Fig. 2, the pin a is slightly in perspective, although it willbe evident that it is between the upper and lower shoulders of therecess m and within the latter, the bottom of the recess being "e formedon a chord of the circular pin m.

`The graduated dial c2 integral with the milled knob c, it will beunderstood, is graduated according to the effective lengths of the gageplugs m when positioned between the anvil Z and the stud Zu for the purs,.g pose of making it possible to determine the distance between theadjustable knife e and the fixed knife E and accordingly the thicknessof the slugs. Step-by-step rotation of the drum to bring any one ofthegage plugs m in exact alinement with the studs Z and 7c, in the mannerdescribed, may be assured by a spring-pressed ball detent 0 carried onthe inner face of the cover plate a4 andl cooperating with a series ofdepressions 2 formed on the upper face of the drum.

` In effecting an adjustment of the movable knife e, the locking deviceshereinafter to be described being in inoperative position, the drum b isrotated by the opera-tor until ;the dial c2 indicates that the propergage plug m for the thickness of the slugs desired is in alinement withthe anvil Z and the stud 7:. The operator then oscillates the ,eccentricZL by means of the handle ZL? so as to move the slide Z and press thegage plug m firmly between the anvil Z and the adjusting stud lo. Inthis position, it will be evident that the length of the particular gageplug which is in position between the studs Z` and 7c will determine thedistance between the adjustable knife e and the cooperating iixed knifeE.

In practice, of course, it is necessary to provide suitable devices forlocking the adjustable knife slide in its adjusted position and withthese locking devices this invention is also concerned. Referring toFig. 5, it appears that the slide cZ has one edge disposed in anundercut way a5 within the frame a, while the opposite edge is also inengagement with asuitable beveled gib 72 disposed between a portion` ofthe frame a n and the beveled edge of the slide cZ. The gib ,p has inthreaded engagement therewith a suitable rod Q which is journaled in the5 frame a and is provided with an operating f handle g by which the gibp may either be i drawn inwardly to clamp the slide Z or may be releasedfrom its engagement therewith `to permit the slide to be reciprocated inits ways. Zhen the gib 79 is drawn inwardly by manual rotation of thethreaded rod Q through the handle g it will be observed kthat the slideZ is forced upwardly, as fr viewed in Fig. 5,.into the undercut way a5and at the same time has its inner face lforced into snug engagementwith the contacting front face of the frame a. To facili- #tate therelease of the gib p from this locking engagement a suitable spiralspring 1" gis interposed operatively between the frame a and the gib 79.

l From the description given of the operation of the adjusting devicesand of the con- :struction of the locking means, it will now ibe evidentthat when the adjusting devices jare to be manipulated it is firstnecessary jfor the operator to rotate the threaded stud so as to releasethe gib p from its locking jengagement with the slide CZ, whereupon thelflatter may bemoved in its ways by means of the eccentric Z1. so as tolpermit the drum b @gto be rotated until the proper gage plug m iispositioned in alinement with the anvil Z and stud L, atwhich time theeccentric is again operated to movethe slide Z to press tliegage plug mbetween thestuds Zo and Z,

thus preventing positively further movement of the slide. When thisadjustment is effected the rod g is then rotated to force the gib pagainst the action of the spring r into locking engagementwith the slide(Z. During rotation of the drum b it is to be observed particularly thatnone of the gage plugs m is in frictional engagement with either of thestuds lo or Z or with any other member and that the only Wear to whichsaid plugs are subjected is such as comes from direct axial compressionthereof and such wear has beenfound to be negligible. Furthermore, thedisposition of the gib y? and its cooperation with the slide d and framea are such that the knife e is locked with certainty in its adjustedposition and absolutely no lateral movement thereof through any of theadjusting factors is permitted. The two characteristics just noted arethose which labove all others have made previous devices of the samegeneral type inaccurate in their operation and liable to constantlychanging elements of error, and it is the features of constructiondescribed herein which obviate such inaccuracies in the improvedmachine. It is to be noted further that the opening a2 in the wall ofthe housing c permits ready access to be had to the gage plugs m andthat by the removal of the retaining pin a any one of said gage plugsmay be removed and have substituted therefor very readily a new plug ora plug of different length to permit intermediate thicknesses of type tobe secured.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the provision ofimproved means for preventing the type from being thrown too far throughthe cutting knives, and in the illustrated embodiment such means consistof a plate s which has its forward edge reversely curved, as at s', andseated within a corresponding curved recess formed in the rear face ofthe adjustable knife e. The plate is held hingedly with the reverselycurved forward edge s seated in the recess of the movable knife by aflat plate t secured to the rear face of said knife and projectingdownwardly over said reversely curved portion of the plate s and bearingagainst said portion to hold it in its seat in the recess of the knife.The plate s stands normally inclined across the path of the slugs asthey are forced between the knives and it is held yieldingly in thisposition bymeans of a flat spring u positionedon the lower edge of theslide (Z. As the slug passes between the trimming knives its progress ischecked by the plate s moving about the hinged joint formed by theportion s in the recess, against the action of the spring u and the slugis thereby prevented from being thrown through. lVhen the movable knifee is adjusted, it will be observed that the plate s moves therewith, andthe novel means of attaching said plate hingedly to said knifeeliminates the likelihood of sticking, a fault which has generally beenpresent in previous slides.

The improved device is not to be limited in its application to anyparticular type of machines but will be useful under any circumstancesin which the thickness of cast slugs is t0 be accurately determined. Noris the invention to be limited to the particular embodiment illustratedin the accompanying drawings as corresponding results may be obtained bythose skilled in the art by means of well known mechanical equivalentssubstituted in place of the parts described.

I claim as my invention:

l. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, knife slide mounted movablytherein, a fixed plate, a rotatable drum mounted operatively betweensaid plate and the slide and a series of plugs carried loosely in saiddrum and movable respectively to an operative position between the plateand the slide to constitute an abutment therebetween and limit themovement of the slide in one direction.

2. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, a knife slid@I mounted movablytherein, a fixed plate, a rotatable drum mounted operatively betweensaid plate and the slide, a series of gage plugs carried loosely in saiddrum and movable respectively to an operative position between the plateand the slide to constitute an abutment therebetween and an eccentric inoperative engagement with the slide to move the same positively intoengagement with the gage plugs.

3. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, a fixedknife, a movable knife, a'series of gage plugs to permit the adjustmentthereof and a rotatable drum in which the plugs are carried loosely andthreaded pins to secure said plugs within the drum, each plug beingprovided with a milled recess intermediate its ends within which thethreaded pin rests to permit axial movement of the plug.

t. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, a knife slide mounted adjustablytherein, an eccentric in direct engagement with said slide to move thesame positively, a shaft journaled in the frame, a drum aflixed to saidshaft, a circular series of gage plugs mounted loosely within the drum,a housing for said drum, a top plate for the housing provided with anindex and an independent dial mounted on said shaft and adapted tocooperate with said index to indicate the position of said slide.

5. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, a knife slide mounted movablytherein and bearing directly along one edge against the frame, means toadjust the knife slide, a gib disposed operatively between the frame andthe other edge and means disposed in juxtaposition to the adjustingmeans for the knife slide for setting up the gib to draw the face of theknife slide against the proximate face of the frame a-nd thereby lockthe slide in the frame.

6. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, a knife slide mounted adjustablytherein and having one edge resting in an undercut Way formed in theframe, means to adjust the knife slide, a beveled gib interposed betweenthe frame and the other beveled edge of the slide and means disposed injuxtaposition to the adjusting means for the knife slide to set up thegib to force the slide firmly against the undercut Way andsimultaneously draw the slide against the face of the frame to lock theslide against movement, said means permitting the release of the gib.

7. In an attachment of a linotype machine for trimming slugs, thecombination of a fixed knife, a frame, a knife slide mounted adjustablytherein and having one edge resti-ngin an undercut Way formed in theframe, manual means to adjust the` knife slide, clamping devicesincluding a beveled gib interposed between theframe and the otherbeveled edge of the slide, manual meansdisposed in juxtaposition to theadjusting means for the knife slide to set up v the gib to force theslide firmly against the undercut lWay and simultaneously draw the slideagainst the proximate face of the slide, a iixed knife, a stop platehaving one `edge reversely curved, a correspondingly curved recess intheadjustable knife in which the plate is hingedly secured and a fspringcarriedon the slide and in operative engagement with the plate.

This specification signed and witnessed this nineteenth day of DecemberA. D. 1913.

Josnrn KoMANcsEK.

Signed in the presence of E. M. TAYLOR,

TDRTHINGTON CAMPBELL.

Washington, D. C."

five cents each, by'addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

